Mystical Ninja DS set for April in Japan

TOKYO--According to Nintendo's official Japanese Web site, Konami will release Ganbare Goemon, an action adventure game for the Nintendo DS, in April 2005 in Japan. The long-running series is known in the West as Legend of the Mystical Ninja.

The Nintendo DS version of Ganbare Goemon will feature graphics styled like Japanese brush paintings. For the bulk of the adventure, the bottom screen will cover player movement in the gameworld, while the top screen will display character portraits, dialogue boxes, and lists of shopkeepers' wares, among other things.

As Goemon moves around on the lower screen, the player will notice various gimmicks and other items scattered about, all of which can be activated with the touch screen. In battle, Goemon fights enemies by whacking them with his traditional tobacco pipe, though players can select different weapons with the L and R buttons. Special event battles, as featured in previous Mystical Ninja titles, will let the player control a giant Goemon robot. The touch screen is used as a remote control, and the robot's movement can be seen on the top screen.

No US release plans have been announced for Ganbare Goemon, although a number of previous games in the series have been released in North America.